Curated by connoisseurs of vintage clothing, the Vintage Showroom is a vast collection of rare 20th-century pieces that fashion designers and stylists pay to view, using the cut and detailing of individual garments as inspiration for their own work. Offering one-of-a-kind access…
What is an earthquake gown? - Who wore eelskin masher trousers? - What did the word "dudes" mean in the 16th century? A Dictionary of English Costume by C. Willett Cunnington, Phillis Cunnington and Charles Beard was originally published in 1960. A monumental achievement and enc…
The universal act of dressing -- shared by both men and women, young and old, rich and poor, minority and majority -- has shaped human interactions, communicated hopes and fears about the future, and embodied what it means to be Somali. Heather Marie Akou mines politics and hist…
Clothing may not make the man (or woman), but it helps. How clothing as a vestige and artifact and as transmitter of identity moves from one use to another, from one fantasy to another fad, from one literary source to another visual one: these are the concerns of the essays in t…